Hallelujah Chorus

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Hallelujah Chorus. Usually taken to mean one particular ch. out of many which exist, i.e. that which closes Part II of Handel's Messiah. At one of the 3 London perfs. in CG Th. in 1743, the whole assembly, led by George II, rose to its feet as the ch. opened, and remained standing to the end, thus establishing a tradition which is sometimes still maintained by Brit. audiences.